Thomas Schafer, CEO of Volkswagen brand, has been appointed Chairman of the Seat S.A. Board of Directors with effect from 8 July 2022.

The new role comes as part of Schafer's new designation as a member of the Board of Management for the Volkswagen Group's Volume Brand Group, which will take responsibility for intensifying and accelerating cooperation within the group's volume brands including Volkswagen itself, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, as well as Seat, Cupra, and of course, Skoda.

Thomas Schafer begun his career as a qualified mechanical engineer at Daimler AG in Stuttgart in 1994, where he held various senior management positions before joining the Volkswagen Group in 2012. He initially headed the group's International Production unit, where he held responsibility for CKD projects and negotiations on new production sites.

Schafer then became Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2015 and was responsible for Volkswagen's business in this country and the development of the Group brands in the sub-Saharan Africa region. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of Skoda Auto in August 2020.